Café Offers Home-Cooked Eats Made from Scratch
Story and Photos by Adrian Lysenko
Chef Stephanie Bragnalo says the Finch café somewhat fell in her lap. Bragnalo was already managing food service for the close to 100 senior residents of McKellar Place—where the café is located—so when the space became available next to the senior living facility’s kitchen, she took on the challenge. “It’s attached to my kitchen, so I had no choice but to take it over,” Bragnalo jokes.
Opened to the public in February 2018, the Finch offers home-cooked food made from fresh ingredients. “Everything is made from scratch, so people love that,” Bragnalo says. “I order in fresh food, fresh vegetables, fresh everything. I cook turkeys so we have our stock, so I don’t buy anything or use anything from a can.”
Some of the most popular items include the all-day breakfast, soups, sandwiches, roasted vegetable wrap, the chef’s salad, and the baking. “The baking is popular,” she says. “We do all our homemade baking. So pies, scones, muffins, that kind of thing.” As for the story behind the name of the café, it’s inspired by the finch in the logo for McKellar Place and also partially inspired by the pet finches that residents have in the building.
Other than the residents of the building, the café offers the nearby community an affordable, relaxed atmosphere for people to come and enjoy a meal. It’s also a space for families visiting residents to have a place to go out that is easily accessible. “People in the building don’t have a lot of options sometimes, especially in the winter,” Bragnalo says. “They’re seniors so they don’t get out all that often. So this is kind of a place for them to go.”
The Finch
325 South Archibald Street
285-4848 ext 218
